Wilbur Bunce

One of lifes great characters and one of the first guys I met when I arrived at my first pro race in the USA passed away.A stalwart of the Super Vee era - RIP
Phil Creighton

Name rings a bell just can't place him. Ran a bunch of race with Hank Chapman in Pro SV

RIP

I’m very sorry to hear this. Wilbur was of an evermore-rare breed of old-school, hard-working racer, to the point and BS-free.

His extensive history is well beyond what I know to quote, but Wilbur was a team owner and engine builder in mostly Pro Super Vee, from at least the early-‘70s to a date unknown to me. I believe he was a or the West Coast Lola dealer for a time, regardless to my memory he first ran Howdy Holmes in amateur and Pro Super Vee until Howdy moved to Formula Atlantic and Indy Car. He also ran Bob Lazier (RIP, old friend) starting in around ‘74 through 1980 (though in a March 80V), over that entire period IIRC, until Bob, too also went to Indy.

Bob quoted to me at one time, maybe a decade ago, “I learned nearly everything from Wilbur.”

Wilbur’s cars and motors were always amongst the top 3, but I think his only Pro championship came in 1977 with Bob Lazier.

I knew him a little as a kid, but spent some good time with him a decade later. I was flown from Denver to paint a late-arriving Van Diemen Super Vee (to debut at Long Beach with Bob Earl, alongside Bob Schader and Ted Dillon) at Bill Fickling’s P1 shop, for the week. Wilbur came in nearly every day, mostly it seemed to talk racing. He was a fan of old school painters though I was 22, and I of everything Wilbur, so we got on swimmingly. What a cool guy.

Thanks for that and your contributions to racing, and to our friend’s career Wilbur. RIP, and condolences to all closer to him.

When I met Wilbur Bunce he was doing March SV's and building engines. Unfortunately the March cars could not touch an RT-5. He was fun to listen to, and if you kept your mouth shut you might even learn something. RIP

Having never met Wilbur prior, he loaned me his only spare Staffs output flange for my DB4 at the 93 Runoffs in Atlanta after I broke one in final qualifing. Without it, I would never have started my first Runoffs.
I'll always remember Wilbur as a gentle soul.
Godspeed Sir

I have what is reputed to be the Micheal Chandler's, 80MarchSV (San Miguel beer car) run out of Wilbur's stable during run to a 4th in series; sort of last March hurrah before the Ralt domination of ProSV.... Sorry, I never got the opportunity to chat with him about the car..racing..history. Understand that Kas Kastner's wife had worked with Wilbur back in time. Appears he was a rare character, a soul of his era, likes of which are seldom seen in current days. God's speed.

Bob L.

Well, I would like to share my story of Wilbur. It was 1976, I was 23 years old and trying to get into pro racing. I had bought the Ex Penthouse Lola T360 from Bill Scott and showed up at Ontario Speedway to run the Pro Atlantic race, did not know my arsh from a hole in the ground. Wilbur felt sorry for me and allowed me to garage at his shop, lent me an engine and gave me the gears to run at Ontario. Finished last, two laps down…but only due to the kindness of Wilbur Bunce. RIP Wilbur

I just came across this post. We've lost yet another of those people who made racing below the very top level a very special place. There was a small industrial complex in East Anaheim, CA, that contained Bunce, engine-builder Chuck Willis and Marc Bahner. If you just stood there--and kept your mouth shut--you couldn't but help becoming a better racer.

Wilbur was a friend and competitor and here is my story about him. It was 1982 and I was doing the super vee engine rebuilds for a few teams including Roger Penske jr. We were on a west coast trip between Phoenix and Riverside and as the case was back then the super vee engines had a limited lifespan. John Judd (engine developments) used to call them "Hitlers revenge" and also mentioned that with these things you just light the fuse and back off..... So after a few blown motors I was in a pinch and needed somewhere to do a few rebuilds and Wilbur and his wife Faye opened the doors of his shop to me so I could get the engines back together.
It was always great fun back in the day in the super vee paddocks with guys like Wilbur, Lee Hagen, Dave McMillian etc.
This is before socialized (spec)racing ( a term coined by my old boss Brian Robertson of Ralt American) where we could make a new wing, try a different damper or any number of thing you could dream up.
RIP Wilbur Bunce.

I'm a year late on this, too.

I knew Wilbur, starting in '74, when Chuck Willis (CRW) took a liking to me, because I was new, young, poor and dumb about FB and Chuck became my best mentor.

Chucks shop was right next door to Wilbur (I think Marc's was 2 doors down, from Chuck) so, naturally I had to go over there to look at the cars. I never met Lazier but, it must have been the same period. So, as time went on, I got to know him.

He liked Howdy, a lot. I remember a story that he told about Howdy, saying that he had to put a shop towel on Howdy's head, one time to make a helmet fit him.

Later, in '77-'78, I had a machine shop, off La Palma, not to far from Wilbur's second shop, when he started running SV and would visit him. I would lone him cutting tools sometimes. I moved to far Nor Cal in '79 and designed a fiberglass rear wing for SV and in late '79 or '80, he agreed to run tests on it. It was when he was running Chandler (son of LA Times owner). He ran it at Willow and said that Chandler was to green to know how well it effected to car.

Last time I saw Wilbur, he was running trucks, in another shop, off La Palma. He said that was were the money was, at that time.

Rest in Peace, Wilbur. You were a really great guy.

That bring up something, I'm afraid I can guess the answer.

What happened to Chuck Willis? When he retired, he said he was going to sail around the world. He gave his step son, his business (CRW) and it didn't last to long after that but, I never saw him again.

I know Marc is still working, I've talked to him, in the last two years. I think Marc, will find a way to keep working, after death :)